National Bank of Canada FI Sells 1,834,181 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,709,722 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,834,181 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.07% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $143,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,084,000 after buying an additional 567,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:MRK opened at $115.35 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The company has a market cap of $285.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. This trade represents a 19.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.